The board attributed its decision to declining inpatient demand. The 20-bed pediatric unit used to house about a dozen children per day, but that number had dwindled to one or none.
“We feel very confident that if we do close our door to inpatient pediatrics, the community’s level of care will not suffer,” David Ratcliff, MD, CMO of Washington Regional, told the board before the vote.
Washington Regional will still offer outpatient visits, neonatal intensive care and delivery services.
The hospital will transform its 20-bed pediatric unit into space for gynecology patients and other patients.
It is the second hospital in the region to scale back pediatric services since the opening of the state’s specialized children’s facility, Little Rock-based Arkansas Children’s Northwest Hospital. Springdale, Ark.-based Northwest Health closed its eight-bed pediatric unit in May 2017.
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